Apparatus for operating mechanism from a distance.



G. GABET,

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING MECHANISMS FROM A DISTANCE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1905.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

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Wi vwws'fis: 6. a? Ja /M G. GABET.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING MECHANISMS FROM A DISTANCE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1906.

Patented Dec.22,1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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Wifzwsses APPLICATION FILED 8BPT.29, 1905.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

3 BHEETB-SHEET 3.

UNITD STATES GUSTAVE GABET, OF ROCHEFORT-SUR-MER, FRANCE.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING MECHANISM FROM A DISTANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

Application filed September 29, 1905. ScriaTNo. 290,692.

To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, GUSTAVE GABET, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at 9 Rue Baudin, in Rochefort-Sur-Mer, Charente Infrieure, in the Republic of France, professor, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in A paratus for Operating Mec anism from a istance, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has for its'object apparatus whereby it is possible to control or operate from a distance, by luminous or electrical waves, an engine, a rudder, a dirigible torpedo, a signal, or any other "mechan- 18111.

The ap )aratus consists broadly of a pallet wheel driven by a clockwork movement,

rovided with a ratchet wheel and advancmg by one pallet under each impulsion of the succession of waves. Certain of the pallets carry a sinuous path of insulating material in which circulates a drop of mercury, which, under the influence of gravity, closes the circuit of the selected control, when the wheel is locked.

The device is represented by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pallet wheel. Fi 2 is a section on the line A-B of Fi 1. i 3 shows inelevation the pallet wheel and in section the crown producing the eclipses to be hereinafter described. Fi 4 is an upper view of one of the brushes ru bing upon the crown. Fig. 5 is a section upon a larger scale on the line C-D of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a view of the optical device producing the eclipses. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the relay for cooperation with the electro-ma net. Fi .8 is an enlarged detail of the paw and ratc et. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of one of the controlling devices. Y

The pallets 1, 2, 3, 4,5 and 6 which efiect thevarious controls, are mounted upon the spindle 7 which is driven by a clockwork movement. The spindle 7 carries the wheel 8 between the teeth of which engages the pawl 9 which is actuated by the electro magnet 10. It is upon this electro magnet that the lines or successions of waves act by the intermediary of an ordinary relay.

At the transmission station only two things can be done: despatch a succession of waves (by depressing the sender) ornot despatchthem.

At the receivingstation, in the first case the pawl 9 is attracted by the electro magnet 10; in the second case, the pawl remains in place, held there by its opposing spring. It is exactly the case of the lever of the Morse apparatus writing the telegram on a strip of paper by meansof intervals in the emissions of the trains of waves.

The object in view is as follows :Given this reciprocating movement of the pawl 9, utilize it for producing varied effects (provided for-in advance) of the'controls and this by closing different circuits, s ecially.

assigned to a particular control, 1 this takes place without any necessit for the intervention of the operator at the receiving station, which may therefore be situatedat an isolated spot, abandoned or inaccessible at the-moment of the operation. e

For the sake of clearness assume'a motor placed at a certain spot and an operator.

posted at another spot, situated at a certain distance from the former. Without coming near the motor it is possible .for the operator,

controls; .starting the motor forward, backward and stopping it. In this ease the pallet wheel will comprise six pallets, for example: three corresponding to the three controls indicated above and the others being repose allets, that is to say pallets not carrying cit er glass tube or bead of mercury and which may thus be left in position of control in the intervals between the controls properly so called. In the first lace therefore we have to show the manner 1n which the electro magnet 10 is energized. The waves may come from two diiferent sources: from the emission instrument manipulated by the o erator or from some foreign apparatus. The device for control from a distance is in fact 'inde endent of the system of wireless telegrap y employed, because it is only the utilization of a kinematic fact: the reciprocating movement of the pawl 9. The electro magnet 10 therefore attracts the pawl 9, the ratchet wheel 8 escapes by one tooth and the pallet wheel, acted u on b the clock-work movement, progresses 8y ha f the interval between two pallets. The ratchet wheel 8 carries a number of teeth double the number of pallets. cession of waves ceases, the electro magnet 10 ceases'to attract the pawl 9 and this. latter, returned .by its opposing spring, permitsof the escape of a fresh tooth of the wheel 8.

from a distance, to effect the three following.

When the train or suc' of mercurycloses'the circuit 17, 16, 15, 13, v 14, 1-9, 20', 22 and 23 which pl plne in order to reach the contact position.

.the insulat lets. of let he At this moment a pallet has reached its contact position. The pallet wheel therefore does not rotate-throughout the entire duration of the emission of the train of waves. If

'this latter is prolonged it only stops the wheelin a position intermediate between the forevgoing position and tl1'e"control position Forelgn instruments might act upon the velectro magnet 10. It is in order to obviate this inconvenience that the optical indicator described is utilized. The operator should know the osition of the wheel ateach momentin or er that he maybe able tosto it at the moment at allet w 'ch corresponds to the,

which the control thathe desires to car out has come beneath the horizontal plane, ecause it is at this moment that gravity" acts upon the bead of mercury tending tocause it to move from the center towards the periphery. The drop tery and an electric ma net not shown. Th s magnet is a relay whic is energized and attracts a allet closing another circuit which produces t e desired control.

The optical indicator described may consist, of a single lamp visible to the This olperator. lamp is inserted on a specia circuit comprising a source of electricity, the ring 24 and'thesprings 32 and 33.

- ,Assumlng, for thesake of clearness, that g strips 29 and 30 are arranged m such a'manner that the'extinction of the lamp takes place immediately. before the palletco'rresponding to the stoppage of the motor has passed beyond the horizontal en the o 'erator has seen the twoextinctions of t e lamp, he will know that the pallet which has thus reached the co'ntrolpb- I 'sition isin fact that which corresponds to the that the first pallet stopplage of the motor,

will subsequently pass corresponds to forward ,travel, the. second to backward travel, that'the succeeding pallets arepalvgeplose, and soon. For thefirst palsee two extinctions of the lamp and one for each-of the others.

By counting the eohpses the op erator will know at each moment theposition of the'wheel at the re-' ceiving station, from which he is separated insurmountable obstacles at thelmoment b of the operation. It is for this reason that the question of actuating the apparatus by hand does not arise,as the apparatus is constructed for control from a distance. If dur I -position of control) it is the interval between the controls "the P etfwheel should be caused to occupy. non-operative pos1t1on allet of repose in in order to obviate the necessity for the' operator constantly causin the pallet wheel that t e drops of mercury may not have time to close any circuit such as 17 to 23.

comprises a batvacuum is formed ed by the wire 19 to a. ring segment 20 (gig.

to rotate, in order The operator might, it is true, at once place the selected pallet in the c'ontrolposition without having to look for the double extinction of the lamp,ibut only if he is quite certain that no double extinction of the lamp has taken place which he has failed to count. The double extinction of the lamp therefore relieves the memory and the attention of the operator. 1

' The drop of mercury does not close the circuit of the lamp but the circuit 17 tol-23 in which the relay producing the desired control is inte'rposed, and the clip 32, 33 is placed in a position such that the eclipse corresponding to a given control ma take place at the precise' moment at whic the pallet attains its position of control while the circuit -17 to 23 will only be closed four seconds later for example (the time occupied by the dropof,

mercury in finishing itsdescent andcome into contact with the electrodes 1314).

H a foreign wave emission ap aratus has caused the wheel to rotate; and th ted it to stop, this because he has counted the extinctions of the lamp. Before the drop 12 has closed the circuit theoperator has time to des atch waves which once again bring the whee into a position of repgse and thereby prevent any control from ta ng place.

. I Y In each pallet corresponding to a control is arranged a sinuous track or path constitutedby a glass tube 11 of from 3 to 4 millimeters internal diameter. j A drop of mercury 12 is introduced into this tube and thereupon a ityof the tube are mounted two platinum points 13 and 14 fused into the glass. These points aresepa'rated by an interval of say 1.5 mm. and are adapted to be electrically connected by the drop 'of mercu point 13 communicates with a wire 15 connected to a ring 16 let into the hub ofthe pallet-wheel, which hub is of-insulating ma- 'terial.

' The electric current. reaches the rinlg 16 by the-intermediary-of the brush 17 whic en permitthe operator will be aware of,

therein. At the extrem The enters a groove formed in the hub 18.and at I the bottom of, which the ring 16 is. situated. There areas many rings, grooves and brushes as there .are pallets carry ing controlling means. The point 14. is electrically'connect is proj'ection is opposite the brllslh E e'to traverse e he 0 erator who P I 'l I I been determined in advance, such as the stopping or starting of a motor, the explosion of a tor edo and so forth.

' It is in or er to prevent the circuit of each control from being closed in all the ositions of the corresponding pallet, while t is latter is below the horizontal plane, that the disposition represented in Fig. 5 has been adopted. Each control of course carries a ring and a brush such as 20 and 23, but the length of each ringis variable and is a function of the angular displacement necessary for causing the closing of the circuit in the sole contact position. f

In order that the operator may be able to act at the desired moment, it is essential that he should know exactly whatthe position of the pallet wheel is at each moment. This result may be obtained by means of two appliances advancing synchronously under the influence of the lines or successions of waves, but this method does not afford any security. The transmitting and receiving stations are usually separated by a considerable distance and it might be that one of the stations was influenced by certain successions of waves which would not affect the other.

The arrangement described, below obviates this defect and renders it possible for the op erator to keep himself acquainted with the exact position of the allets of the wheel at all times. This wheeT is provided, screwed to the edge of the pallets, with a ring of copper 24 provided at intervals with insulating strips 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31. These strips correspond to the various pallets'carrying the controls. 1'

In order to establish a datum, one of the controls (5 in the example chosen), corresponds to two insulating strips 29 and 30 separated by an interval of some millimeters. A clip, formed by two springs 32 and 33 forming brushes and mounted upon an ebonite cube 34, is supported by the rod 35 opposite the ring 24, in sucha manner that in the rotation of this latter the insulating strips come in succession between the brushes 32 and 33. I

Fig. 6 represents the o tical device producing the eclipses, an comprising the crown 24, the s rin s 32 and33, the wire 45,

the lamp 46, (p ace on the top of a mast for example, and visible only to the operator, owing to a screen which sends all the luminous rays towards him), the Wire 47, and the source of electricity 48.

The relay acting upon the'electro-i'nagnet 10 is represented in Fig. 7.

The electric waves reach the wire 37 carrying the coherer 38 throu h an antenna. The electro-magnct 39 when it is energized closes the circuit of the electro-magnet 10 which attracts the pawl 9.

The counter spring36 maintains the pawl 9, in the'position of repose during the intervals between the arrival of the trains of waves.

Fig. 9 shows a diagram of one of the controlling means. When the proper pallet is in the controlled position and the wheel is stopped, the pro ection 22 (F ig. 5) is opposite the brush 23'. The drop of mercury is in contact with the points 13 and 14 and the circuit is closed over 17, 16, 15, 13, 14, 19,20,

22, 23, the electro-magnet 40 and the source of electricity 41. The electro-magnet 40 then closes the circuit 42, 43, comprising a source of electricity 44 and terminating at the parts. charged with effecting the desired operation. Afl the'brushes such as 17 communicate with the source of electricity 41 on the one hand, and on the other hand with a circuit similar to the foregoing and com )llS- ing an electro-magnet such as 40 which closes a circuit such as 42, 43, and which is likewise connected with the source of electricity 44. In short, it is in the circuits 42, 43, that the appliances producing the effects, that the operator at the transmitting station desires to obtain, are situated.

For the sake of clearness, the various circuits described above are represented separate from each other.

The controlled above is the only one.

position mentioned It is that in which the pallet 1 (Fig. 1) is situated that is to say I the first position below the horizontal plane passing through the axis of the wheel, in

which all the pallets stop in succession.

Owing to the, double extinction of the lamp produced by the strips 29 and 30, the operator need only count the successive extinctions of the lamp in order to know the exact position of the )allet wheel at any moment and the manipulation required for producing the desired control.

This apparatus likewise presents another advantage of great importance. The velocity of light being treated as infinite, the

operator by reason of the position actually occupied by the clip, perceives the extinction of the lamp corresponding to the control that he desires to produce at the precise momentat which the pallet reaches its operating po-, sition. Now, the drop of mercury, tending to move away from the center and-towards the eriphery, occupies an appreciable time (which is a function of the inclination and of the sinuosities of the insulating tube) before it makes contact with the points 13 and 1,4. If this period is four seconds, for example, the selected control will not be produced until four seconds afterthe o erator has observed the extinction of the amp. The operator is accordingly notified, some few seconds before its execution, that the operation is about to take place, and he still has time, in case the operation in question should not be that which was selected, to prevent this operation before it produces its effect. It

would onlybe necessary for to depress his Morse key and thereby emit a suc-v tor to correct any errors in operation before cession of waves causing the Wheel to advance b one I allet before the mercury has been ab e to c ose the' circuit. In practice, therefore,v this apparatus enables theoperathey have produced an disturbance in the apparatus actuated. ts importance. be-

comes especiallyZ-great when it is applied to a maritime device (toa'dirigible torpedo for example) as it ern'iits of nullifying before they can take e ect', any controls attem ted 1. Apparatus for eifecting'control from a distance by luminous or electrical waves,

consisting of a pallet wheel driven by a clockwork movement, provided with a ratchet wheel and advancing by one pallet at each impulsion of theline ofwaves, the pallets pro ducing the controls containing each a smuous-tube of insulating material, free from air and containing a drop of mercury which under the influence of gravity makes contact with two conductingpoints fused into the tube and inter osed in an electric circuit the closingof whic produces the control, the delay in making the contact which arises. from the time occupied by the mercury in travers ing thetube, permitting the operator to rectify operative errors or to authorized operations before they have had time to produce their effect substantially as set forth.

from a distance by luminous or electrical waves, a pallet wheel, clock-work for driving the same,-a ratchet wheel, means for advancing the same by one pallet at e achim ulsion of'the line of waves,-each pallet embodying a sinuous tube of insulating material free from air and containing a. drop of mercury, two

' through the latter, an

nullify outside or un-' conducting points in one portion of said tube, a ring segments of different lengths embedded man insulator with rojections extending d brushes-for cooperation therewith to close the circuit onlyin such position of the pallet wheel thatthe brushes and projections'come into contact with each other.

3. In an apparatus for effecting control from a distance by luminous or electrical v waves, means for lighting and extinguishing' the lamp, a pallet wheel, clock-work for driv; ing the same, a ratchet wheel, means for advancing the same by one pallet at each im' y Eulsionof the line of waves, eachpallet ein-K odying a sinuous'tube of insulat ngmaterial freefrom air and containing a drop :of mercury, two conducting oints in one POI? tion of said tube, a rin'go copperconnected with said wheel and insulating strips carried I by said ring in frontof each pallet-and which durin the rotation of the wheel produce extinguishments whereb guishments which fo low .two extinguishcounting the extinments succeeding each other rapidly by reason of said two insulating strips ein side, the position of the pallet wh el may be known at all times. a

4. In an apparatus for effecting control from a distance by luminous or electrical side by waves, a wheel with pallets-each embodying a sinuous tube with conducting points, said tube being free from air and containing a drop of mercury, ring segments electrically connected with one of said )oints and presenting projections, and brushes for cooperation wit said projections,-said rings being of I variable length as and for the purpose speci- 2. In an apparatus for effecting control -fi' Witnesses:

D. HERMAN, E. Aves. 

